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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28080618">a hard bargain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/milktoast_mcgee/pseuds/milktoast_mcgee'>milktoast_mcgee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Explicit Consent, Hand Jobs, M/M, Oral Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sex for Favors, Strangers, THERE ARE NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS AND everything is consensual don't worry, mentions of the other boys but it's just noct here babey, these boys need money</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:47:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28080618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/milktoast_mcgee/pseuds/milktoast_mcgee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The negotiations didn't take long. The hunters led him behind the motel. The gentle buzzing of the motel road sign disappeared behind them. The street lights could barely find them there.</p>
<p>Noctis swallowed hard and fought back the dizzy, hot feeling in his gut. 5,000 gil apiece if he used his hands. 10,000 -- as the roughest hunter purred, a calloused hand finding his cheek  -- if he used that pretty mouth of his.</p>
<p>(or, Noctis makes some questionable decisions because (snaps fingers) the money)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Noctis Lucis Caelum/Other(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a hard bargain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His status meant nothing here. Even if they all knew he was a prince, it didn't matter. Princes didn't get discounts outside of Insomnia. Gil was hard to come by when more experienced, more favored hunters stole the well-paying hunts. </p>
<p>They had no choice but to take the motel for the night, though, funds be damned. Making their way through the night before, desperately searching for a safe place to camp, Prompto took a considerable blow from a daemon. Claws dug into his shoulder. Red blood glistened in the moonlight. His strained shout echoed in Noctis's mind. The potion had stopped the bleeding and close the wound. His magic wasn't entirely useless, but it wasn't enough. Deep, purplish bruises clouded his whole side. </p>
<p>Ignis and Gladio were trained Crownsguard. They knew the dangers of battle and had long since accepted them. But Prompto. Easygoing Prompto, so gentle deep down. His life wasn't lived for royalty. He was his friend. His best friend. To take such a hit, to grimace and try to smile and tell the rest of them not to worry, made Noctis's heart ache. He had to rest, at least. He had to recover. </p>
<p>The blond instantly fell asleep when he found a motel bed, but he whimpered in his sleep. His teeth clenched. Ignis kept careful watch over him. Gladio lay at Prompto's uninjured side and tried to sleep, but his own worry kept him awake. Noctis couldn't sleep. He couldn't bear to look at Prompto, either. Or his companions' worried faces. He rose from the opposite bed suddenly and made for the door. Ignis called after him, his voice sharp.</p>
<p>"Where are you going?"<br/>"Gonna take a walk," Noct grunted. "Gotta... go think, or something."</p>
<p>Ignis gave a disapproving hmm, but didn't move. Gladio's half lidded eyes remained on the dim ceiling. Noct found the night air with a groan, shutting the door behind him. His hands made fists. He didn't get far along the motel sidewalk before pushing his palms to his eyes and cursing. </p>
<p>They needed money. They needed supplies. They were on the run from the empire. They needed to keep each other safe. He needed to keep Prompto safe. If he couldn't even do that...</p>
<p>Noct nearly threw himself into one of the chairs in the motel lot. The neon sign near the road buzzed quietly, too bright in the night. The late hour left the reception counter dark. The prince nearly collapsed onto the table before him and groaned. What were they going to do? What was he going to do?</p>
<p>A small collection of tables sat at the corner of the motel lot, near the closed rooms' doors and darkened windows. Rough laughter joined him in the night. He spied several men at a round table across from him. Dark bottles scattered the table. The men thumbed through a generous collection of paper bills. The stacks disappeared into wallets, into jacket pockets around the table. They talked of behemoths -- three of them, it seemed. The same hunt posted on the hunters' board. The same hunt the informant told them was already completed. Noctis couldn't help but glare at the five men across from him. Immediately, he hated them. Their skill and popularity and money.</p>
<p>Dark eyes found him soon enough. Two men looked up. Noct returned his head to his arms. When he looked up again, all five pairs of eyes found him. Despite the night hour, one man wore sunglasses, which he adjusted as he bit his lip. One of the hunters chuckled. They muttered to themselves. Noctis burned under their eyes. He was a sheltered type, sure, but even he could tell they were talking about him.</p>
<p>He straightened in his chair when one of the hunters approached. He walked with a slight limp, his long coat swaying with his uneven steps. Noctis eyed him carefully. He could feel the older man's eyes studying him in return. A wry, tired smile highlighted the wrinkles in his face, the grayish stubble on his chin.</p>
<p>"You and your bunch," he said, voice rough with age and alcohol. "Yer the newbies everybody's been talking about."<br/>Noctis shrugged. "That doesn't sound like a question."<br/>"It wasn't." He chuckled while his companions muttered again amongst themselves. He cocked his head, and his gaze grew too heavy, too sharp. "Yer not from around here, are 'ya? The empire? Overseas? Definitely not hunters, can tell that much."<br/>"Are you actually asking now, or still assuming?"<br/>The man laughed. "Well, I guess I will ask, actually, if y'wanted to join us fer a little while. Mind helpin' a couple'a tired old hunters out?"</p>
<p>Noctis blinked. Despite the wave of disgust that immediately washed over him, he didn't say no. He swallowed hard. His eyes darted away and he tried to come back at once, only for the man to grin at his moment of weakness. His friends at the table grunted and chuckled quietly.</p>
<p>"Know what I mean?" asked the man. He raised a gloved hand and made a gesture that made the men behind him laugh a little more. "We'll pay 'ya for your time, of course. Lookin' like yer bunch's kinda fallen on some hard times. We're a little hard up too. If you know what--"<br/>"I know what you mean," Noctis said. He felt too stiff in his chair, felt the many eyes on him too heavy and too hot. He shook his head. "I'm, uhh. Can't say I really... expected my night to go like that, though. Don't get the wrong idea -- it's, that's not really my thing, but, uh."<br/>Another of the men approached with nearly a guffaw. "Cute li'l thing like you?" <br/>"Definitely not from around here," said one with a prominent scar across his face. "They don't make 'em like you in these parts."<br/>"You sure you don't get offers like this all the time?" asked the first man. He drew closer and his shadow towered over the seated prince. The moonlight caught his tight smile and the bristles on his chin. "You and those boyfriends of yours? Say, if we pay you all well enough--"</p>
<p>Noctis didn't let him finish. He jumped to his feet and moved back. The prince was armed, after all. He was trained. He could definitely defend himself if he needed to. The others weren't far. The hunters' too-friendly chuckles told him that if he just left now, they wouldn't follow. He wasn't in danger or anything. He could have said no, and knew he should have. </p>
<p>But he sighed and carefully met the old hunter's eyes.</p>
<p>"They don't need a bunch of old perverts," Noctis said with a chuckle of his own. "I get what you're saying. Sure. So, you don't have to be so goddamn creepy about it. Alright?"</p>
<p>While briefly taken aback, the five men laughed. Noct's face burned and his fists shook and ached at his sides. The first man rubbed his chin. His other hand found Noct's shoulder and the prince froze in an instant under his glittering smile.</p>
<p>"Sure don't mean to sound creepy, but you sure got a mouth on you, precious. Wanna put it to good use fer us?"</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>The negotiations didn't take long. The hunters led him behind the motel. The gentle buzzing of the motel road sign disappeared behind them. The street lights could barely find them there. The low light found the one hunter's sunglasses, another's scars, yet another's graying hair, and the patches in all their jackets. But he really didn't want to look at them for too long.</p>
<p>Noctis swallowed hard and fought back the dizzy, hot feeling in his gut. 5,000 gil apiece if he used his hands. 10,000 -- as the roughest hunter purred, a calloused hand finding his cheek  -- if he used that pretty mouth of his. They would politely spill on the dead grass beneath when they were done. The hunters assured him they wouldn't last long. Not with how pretty he was. </p>
<p>Noct took a deep breath. He steadied himself, but his heart pounded hard in his chest. He'd done worse things. Not for money, of course. Nothing like this, of course. But if he could withstand some monster attacks, if he could learn how to warp, if he could take the power of Kings past and wield it to take down the empire, he could satisfy a few hunters for quick cash. </p>
<p>The more he thought about it, the worse it sounded. His stomach churned. Dark eyes surrounded him. Three were much taller than him. One of them was squat with a considerable gut. The last stood near Noctis's own height, but the prince didn't stand too tall at the middle of their circle.</p>
<p>He thought about Prompto, grimacing, trying to save his comrades from his whining even in unconsciousness. If Ignis and Gladio found him now, behind the motel, surrounded by strangers... the anxiety twisting inside him took on an unfamiliar thrill. His heart beat faster. Oh, no, he wasn't looking forward to something like this, was he?</p>
<p>"S'been awhile since I had a li'l treat like this," grunted one hunter.<br/>"Gonna get on yer knees sometime tonight?" asked the one with sunglasses, nudging Noct with his elbow.<br/>"No hurry," said the third, thoroughly scarred. One of his hands grasped Noct's chin to tip his face up, low light on his skin. "Don't mind gettin' a good look at 'ya, gorgeous."<br/>Noctis scoffed. "What, am I supposed to be flattered?"<br/>"This ain't no romance flick," said the rotund man. A firm hand seized Noctis's wrist and jerked him closer. The prince immediately felt old denim straining against his aching stiffness. The hunter breathed heavy, beady eyes full of hunger. "C'mon. I'm first."<br/>"Who let you decide?" The fifth man, with grayed stubble and a thin smile, chuckled in such a way it sent a shiver up Noct's spine. Too-gentle hands slid along his hips. The old hunter clicked his tongue. "I mean, it's up to you, boy."</p>
<p>Noctis bit his lip -- he heard one of the men nearly moan at the sight.</p>
<p>"Whatever," hissed the prince, looking anywhere but the eager eyes upon him. "I don't care so long as you pay up."<br/>The round man growled. He rubbed himself against Noct's hand. Liquor burned on his breath. "Ffff-fuck, that's what I like to hear."<br/>"Hey," snorted one of the others. Noct didn't care who it was. "Easy, now. Don't wanna cream yourself right away, do 'ya?"<br/>Another hunter shrugged. Noctis heard the click of a belt, the slide of fabric on skin. "Well, if we're gonna jump right in..."<br/>"Oh, hell yeah."</p>
<p>Their dark eyes glistened in the limited light. For a moment, Noctis felt the same flavor of panic he'd felt being surrounded by sabertusks. But slowly, as he lowered himself, legs moving on their own, the panic turned into something else. His knees found the grass. Something heavy fluttered in his stomach. Flashing the old hunter a steady glare, he licked his lips again -- another hunter didn't bother holding back a groan at the sight.</p>
<p>"Hands, five thousand," Noctis said. He gripped the rotund hunter through his jeans, causing the man's knees to buckle at once. He fumbled with his own fly, and Noct definitely couldn't deny the jolt along his spine when he felt hard, hot skin. But he kept his eyes steady on the lead hunter, whose grin only widened.<br/>"And ten thousand for..." His voice became a growl as one hand found his face, thumb dragging along the young man's lower lip. Having removed his gloves, Noct grimaced at the feel of his worn, tired fingers. But his tongue brushed the hunter's thumb anyway, causing even the old man to hiss with delight. "Can't argue with that."</p>
<p>The fat hunter cursed again. He jerked Noct closer to him and firmly trapped his hand around his needy cock. The prince's heart shuddered. Suddenly, he couldn't help but gaze in awe at the thing. It was big. It was so big his hand barely fit around it. He gasped as it throbbed into his palm. The hunter whined and shoved his hips into Noct's hand, grasping it with his own. He tried to say something but quickly grew incomprehensible, quickly lost himself in the young man's warm grasp.</p>
<p>"Hey," grunted another hunter as a hand found Noct's shoulder. "You got two hands, y'know."</p>
<p>The second hunter's hand was far more gentle on his wrist. He let Noctis's fingers find his dick on their own. Noct's eyes darted to the new presence and found it just inches from his face. Smaller than the other man's, but no less hard. Longer. Hot skin pulled tight. A bead of want at the head glittered so nicely in the light. His thumb rolled over it, drawing a slick line in a circle around the man's cockhead. The hunter grunted and bucked into him. Noctis's hand ventured down his length slowly. So slowly, the first hunter couldn't bear it any longer.</p>
<p>He swore. His hips shoved again and again into Noct's hand. Though he released his grip on the prince's hand, Noct kept a hard, steady rhythm on him. When he squeezed the base of his cock, the hunter reached his limit -- he pulled away suddenly and cried out. Noct's wide eyes watched one strand in the light, and another. The heavyset man wobbled on his legs. His back found the motel siding and he let a loud, hollow sigh. Sweat dotted the man's wrinkled brow. Noct's hand trembled, floating in the air, until it was soon replaced with another waiting, eager dick.</p>
<p>"Me next."<br/>"Hey, hey, don't forget about me over here."</p>
<p>The second hunter shoved closer, but the third even more. Suddenly, Noctis found two stiff dicks just before his face, hands dumb and motionless upon them. The four impatient figures loomed over him. Despite being rooted to the ground, Noct's knees trembled. When one of the hunters jerked his hips, his own squirmed. He was breathing heavy when he watched his own hands move. Both cocks were eager, desperate, glistening with their need. Noct's palms burned. His heart thudded in his head in time with his pace. One hunter cursed. His cock bobbed closer, slipping in Noct's grip. The wet tip brushed his cheek. It was immediately joined by the other poking his lips. And yet another, unaccompanied by his hands.</p>
<p>Noctis grunted, trying to fight the urge to squirm a little more. "Don't y-you know how to be patient?"<br/>"Hunters ain't known to be too patient," replied one of the men, but it didn't matter which one. Fingers found his mouth. A sea saltish taste found his tongue, slick and wet, and made his eyes close. Another hand found his hair. One of the shadows over him purred. "Open up, babe."</p>
<p>Noct jerked his head back, despite the hand rooted in his hair. He squeezed both cocks in his grasp tight -- one man groaned and the other cried out. It took one, two, a few more pumps to draw him over the edge. Arcs of white spilled all over. Drips of it found Noctis's thighs. Despite his own moan, he drew his lips along the side of the fourth hunter's cock, flashing him a sneaky smile.</p>
<p>"Like we agreed?"<br/>"Ten thousand gil," grunted the hunter. Frustration and the sensation of Noct's soft, pink lips made his dick pulse. "You... drive a hard bargain."<br/>"Shit, shit, shit." The third hunter shoved closer. His dick drew a slick line along Noct's jaw. When Noct's grip loosened on him, his whole body writhed. "Your mouth. Gimme yer mouth, too."<br/>"Hey--"</p>
<p>Before he could complain -- did he really want to? he wondered in the haze. He probably didn't -- two dicks were poised at his lips. The hand in his hair gripped tight and tipped his head back. Noct couldn't help but moan, mouth going wide. His tongue found the two rounded tips at once, and his hands quickly followed. Though his hands grasped both dicks at the base, trying to jerk them back, the two fought to keep flush to his lips. Smooth tips coaxed his lips open further. His tongue was nestled between their dicks, the taste of them clouding his senses.</p>
<p>The fingers in his hair loosened. The unsteady hand pet his head. When he managed to open his eyes, he met the eyes of the lead hunter. The hand on his head eased him to the side and soft lips closed around the head of one throbbing member. </p>
<p>"This," said the grayed hunter, gently palming himself through his trousers, "is a real good look fer you, precious."</p>
<p>The third of the hunters couldn't last. His hips thrust forward without warning. The pulse of his dick rippled through Noct's mind, through his whole  body, but he jerked backward. The mess easily found his face, though. Long strands of white caught his hair and his skin. He made some noise of complaint -- "extra for that," he tried to say, but maybe it came out as more of a breathless moan -- before the fourth man's cock plunged into his mouth.</p>
<p>"Mmfh..."</p>
<p>Noctis's eyes fell closed. He drew back to curl his tongue around the hunter's cock, to properly, slowly envelop the head with his lips. A sigh wracked his body. He barely realized his hips were twitching even more. His tense thighs squeezed tightly together. Drool dripped hot from his chin and dotted his pants. His head bobbed as he took more of the hunter in. His both hands grasped his jeans. Fingers carded through his hair. The feeling of his lips sliding along his cock, the flat of his tongue along its underside, left him dizzy. He squeezed his thighs tighter and whimpered at the friction against his own dick. </p>
<p>The hunter's hips shuddered. Noct pulled back again to lick at the tip, swirling his tongue around the slit. The man had to brace himself with both hands on Noctis's shoulders. The prince couldn't decide if he liked how it tasted -- but he didn't want to consider the question at all. He moved forward, swallowing the length of his cock in one slow, languid move. The man over him cried out into the night like a daemon. A trembling hand found his hair. Pulling dark strands taut, he yanked Noct backward.</p>
<p>"In your mouth," hissed the man, breaths heavy and desperate. "J-just... just like that..."</p>
<p>Noct couldn't do anything else. His mouth fell slack. The man's cockhead rolled over his tongue. When the hunter jerked back, Noct's eyes closed. He tasted each pulse on his tongue, dripping from his lips, dripping down his face. He shuddered. The prince gripped his thighs but couldn't hold back a dull, dizzy moan. His head spun. His whole trembling body was hot. He didn't hear the stumbling footsteps or the crunch of grass. Two careful, gentle hands found his head. He could barely see the last of the hunters, the leader, still grinning down at him. But he could definitely see his imposing, impressive cock just before his face.</p>
<p>"Twenty-five thousand," he growled, a thumb smearing another hunter's spend along his cheek. "I get to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours and make you swallow all I've got."</p>
<p>Somewhere in the shadows, the other men muttered, or laughed, or something. It didn't matter. The last of the hunters rubbed his dick against the prince's face. He let a low, guttural sound at the smoothness of his skin. His fingers laced through his hair, palms cradling the sides of his head. Though the hunter gently tilted his head, Noctis kissed the hard, taut, hot skin before him. He worked his way to the base and up again. He flicked his tongue at the tip and the beast above him growled once more.</p>
<p>"Throw in a little extra if," he paused, breath hitched, thanks to Noct trailing hot, open mouth kisses down his cock once again. "...you take care of yourself, too."<br/>"Me, too," said one of the hunters from the shadows. Another grumbled, words heavy with need.<br/>"If the pretty boy gets off too, shit, I can't handle it."<br/>Another of the hunters cursed from the dark. Noct could hear them coming closer. "If yer gonna keep wiggling yer hips like that, we might have to rip off all those clothes."<br/>"No."</p>
<p>Noctis took a breath. The men froze at his command. He straightened himself. His body had gone stiff, painfully stiff. He cast a glare down to the bulge in his trousers and the stains he'd have to explain to Ignis one way or another. Returning his eyes to the length before his lips, he gave it a slow, gentle kiss. At the same time, his hands slid down along his body. He caught his trousers at the waist and slowly, slowly, slowly slid them down. Eyes widened as the crowd circled him again. The other hunters' hands quickly found their stiffness, but Noctis shook his head.</p>
<p>"H-he's the last one. No more from any of you." Noct's hips wiggled. He let a heavy breath answered by the five hunters when his own dick met the night air. Somehow, he found himself enough in the haze to glare up at the man past his huge length. "Fifty thousand."<br/>"Shut up." The man above him cackled. "Twenty-five."<br/>Noctis pouted, lips pressed against his cock. "I could just get up and leave."<br/>"Yeah," chuckled the man. "But you won't. Thirty, then. I fuck your throat raw while you give us a good little show, then we call it a day."</p>
<p>The hunter smeared a clear bead across Noct's lower lip. The prince shuddered and allowed the man's cock past his lips. His eyes fell closed. The man above him groaned. Noct's tongue languished along the velvety, taut length. The hands in his hair held him steady while slowly, carefully, the hips before him shifted. The hunter drew back, and pushed in. He rolled his hips back and, with a low growl, shoved himself in. Noct could feel him slowly pushing deeper. His cock laid his tongue down flat and he fought the urge to choke when it hit the back of his throat. And again. The sensation went directly to his hips and made his own dick ache. Heavy breaths surrounded him. Eager voices. As if his hands had become their own, they moved down along his body. The prince grasped his own cock and whimpered. The hunter shoved even deeper, his hips stuttering, dick pulsing as it claimed the young man's mouth.</p>
<p>"That's it," he purred. Mutters of agreement followed from the others as Noctis moved his own hips. He jerked into his grasp as the man drew back and, without warning, shoved back in. The prince whimpered and his voice rippled through the old hunter's cock and through his whole body, evidenced by a shivering chuckle. "Th-that's a good boy."</p>
<p>Noctis couldn't think. He could barely breathe. The hunter consumed his senses with every push of his hips. His own hips found his rhythm, thrusting weakly, twitching, into his own hand. His trousers slid further down his thighs. The old hunter held him steady, fingers twisted tight into his hair at the back of his head, as he pushed yet deeper. Noctis rose a little on his knees, hips rocking senselessly in the low light. He couldn't hear the other hunters getting hard again. He couldn't hear them breathing, moaning, jerking themselves in the face of such a sight. </p>
<p>The lead hunter shoved into him again. Noctis tried to swallow, but the man's dick buried itself deep. He half gagged and half moaned -- the hunter drew back to allow the prince a chance to cough, to breathe, only to snap his hips forward again. His cock pulsed. His heart pounded between the steady pace set by the hunter. The tip of his eager, hungry dick tried to plunge deeper, deeper, enveloped in the soft, welcoming heat of Noct's throat.</p>
<p>Nails dug into the back of Noctis's head. The hunter made Noct swallow him to the base. The prince's nose brushed short, gray bristles of hair below his navel. His own hand pumped his dick -- he couldn't take it. He couldn't wait. He wanted the man to finish. He wanted them all to finish at once. He wanted to feel him spill down his throat and tumble over the edge of orgasm at once. His jaw hurt. The man jerked him back again and shoved in again. He cursed and hissed and caressed his hair and called him beautiful, gorgeous, with such a nice, tight--</p>
<p>"--hhhgk--"</p>
<p>It was hot. Noct's whole body bristled. His hand grasped his dick as it pulsed, hips twitching without rhythm, without sense. Strands of spend found the man's slacks and the dry, cracked grass. Noctis swallowed hard. His throat tightened as something wet and slick and way, way too hot flooded into him. A moan attempted to break free from his lips, but the hunter pushed himself somehow yet deeper. He shoved. His hips stuttered. He slid his fingers through Noct's hair as he came hard, cursing voiceless and heavy to the night air.</p>
<p>Noctis floated. His senses drifted through a sea of blinding white. At some point, he must have fallen back, flopped back onto his knees, but the old hunter kept him upright. He withdrew his cock slowly and let it fall from Noct's slackened mouth. White coated his tongue and dripped from his lips. He slowly became aware of the other hunters, their lines in the grass, their sweaty brows and relieved sighs.</p>
<p>One of the lead hunter's hands found his jaw. Without being told, Noct closed his mouth and swallowed the remains of the man's spend. When his lips parted again, the hunter sighed. He smoothed the prince's messy hair -- now even messier from all their efforts -- and flashed him a weary, satisfied smile.</p>
<p>"Damn, gorgeous." While one of his hands cradled Noct's face, the other reached into his coat pocket. He procured a handkercheif and padded lightly at the prince's face. As he wiped the white from his cheeks and hair, he chuckled quietly. "What's the bill at now, anyhow?"<br/>Noct blinked. He leaned into the hunter's hand and tried to think. The other hunters pulled up their pants and righted themselves. They muttered and rifled through their pockets and wallets, but their leader stopped them. He winked at Noctis instead with beady eyes.<br/>"Unless yer lookin' to drain us dry..."</p>
<p>Noct snorted. The other hunters laughed. Despite the playful disappointment in the leader's face, he helped the prince up to his feet. Noct righted the waist of his trousers and his own jacket. Another hunter's hand slapped him on the back. Another arm draped over his shoulders, accompanied by a loud, tired, contented laugh.</p>
<p>"C'mon. Let's get cleaned up and tally all this out. Alright?"</p>
<p>Similarly tired but satisfied mutters circled the group. They made their way together toward the front of the motel. Noct felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He jerked away from the five with a dismissive wave. The hunters returned to their table and collected their things, bottles and all. Noctis could hear them arguing about numbers, about giving the pretty boy a good tip, and hey, maybe if we ask nicely, he'll let us do a little more...</p>
<p>The message from Ignis was short and simple. "Are you alright?"<br/>Noctis cleared his throat. He typed a similarly short, simple answer. "helping some hunters out with something."<br/>The next message came quickly. "Do you need help?"<br/>"nah," Noctis replied as he rejoined the hunters. "just a little thing for extra cash. be back in a bit."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I basically wrote this just to see if I could. noct just looks good on his knees ok. don't even look at me. consent is important, friends! CONSENT IS COOL, MY DUDES! spoilers shortly after this they clean noct up nice and pay him a whole lot more than they agreed. they probably meet up later at meldacio hq sometime tho and things are maybe a little awkward. hopefully next time ignis is like NO ABSOLUTELY NOT and decides to take the bullet for him (wink wonk) I mean -- there won't be a next time. no. there won't. of course not.</p>
<p>thank you for reading I'm gonna (finish the actual thing I wanted to write and then) hurl myself into the sea.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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